Chapter 211

When the train stops and doesn’t move again, Christopher steps off and tries to find the next step on his way to London. Informed that a police officer is looking for him, he manages to avoid detection. He is quickly overwhelmed by all the information on hand and when a man approaches him, he threatens him with the swiss army knife. He asks the man at the desk for help as it seems more logical to him to receive help there rather than from a stranger. Christopher creates another way to deal with the overwhelming amount of information that the modern world bombards everyone with daily: he positions his hand like telescope over his eye, so as to reduce the input of information, especially signs, and eventually finds the sign that directs him to the next station.

In the tube station, Christopher sits in a passport photo booth, the confined place making him feel safe, and watches people through the curtain. By watching other passengers, he works out how to buy a ticket and go through the ticket gates. He buys a ticket to Willesden Green and goes through the gates that he likes because they remind him of a science fiction film. However, once on the platform, the rushing wind and loud noise of the trains coming and going render Christopher frozen.

Chapter 211 Quotes

So I took out my Swiss Army knife.
And he said, ‘Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Whoa,’ and held up both his hands with his fingers stretched out in a fan, like he wanted me to stretch my fingers out in a fan and touch his fingers because he wanted to say he loved me, but he did it with both hands, not one like Father and Mother, and I didn’t know who he was. Chapter 211
And I thought, ‘I can do this,’ because I was doing really well and I was in London and I would find my mother. And I had to think to myself, ‘The people are like cows in a field,’ and I just had to look in front of me all the time and make a red line along the floor in the picture of the big room in my head and follow it. Chapter 211

Chapter 223

Christopher reflects on his adventure and the fact that Siobhan told him that some people enjoy travelling and seeing new things. The advertisements in the train station also describe far away places to visit. These don’t entice Christopher.

Chapter 223 Quotes

And Siobhan says people go on holidays to see new things and relax, but it wouldn’t make me relaxed and you can see new things by looking at earth under a microscope or drawing the shape of the solid made when 3 circular rods of equal thickness intersect at right angles. Chapter 223

Chapter 227

After some time, a pattern emerges to Christopher in which the noise happens, then the trains appear, people get on and off, and then the train departs. This pattern helps Christopher, coupled with the sign that lights up to announce that the train is approaching, meaning he can predict the events and thus can operate normally. He has spent nearly five hours at the station. He realises Toby, his pet mouse, has escaped and looks for him. He sees mice on the tracks and then, seeing Toby, climbs down to catch him. He is aware that a man is shouting at him to get up but he is single-minded in catching Toby. A train approaches and the man has to pull Christopher to safety, saving his life. A woman comes to help but Christopher, using his logical processing, dismisses her as she is not a teacher, someone from whom he could ask for help.

Eventually Christopher boards the train and makes his way to Willesden Green. After purchasing a map, he finds his way to his mother’s address. He waits for his mother, who arrives home with Roger, and who is shocked at Christopher’s arrival and that he is by himself. They run a bath for him and feed him. Roger appears unimpressed that Christopher has arrived. Christopher’s father arrives with the police, and angry words are exchanged between his father, his mother and Roger. The police are happy to let Christopher stay when Christopher tells them he wants to stay with his mother. Christopher’s writing includes many sentences beginning with ‘and’ or ‘and then’ similar to the way children tell stories aloud and underscores how overwhelming the situation is for Christopher. Events continue happening without giving him much needed time to process. His precise descriptions of signs demonstrate how everyday things most people simply glance at are overstimulating for someone with Christopher’s condition.

Chapter 227 Quotes

And then the next train came I wasn’t so scared anymore because the sign said TRAIN APPROACHING so I knew it was going to happen. Chapter 227

And if she was a teacher at school I could have said, ‘Where is 451c Chapter Road, Willesden, London NW2 5NG?’ but she was a stranger, so I said, ‘Stand further away,’ because I didn’t like her being so close. Chapter 227

And then, after a while, she said, ‘Christopher, let me hold your hand. Just for once. Just for me. Will you? I won’t hold it hard,’ and she held out her hand.
And I said, ‘I don’t like people holding my hand.’ (Christopher and his mother) Chapter 227

Chapter 229

Christopher finally gets to rest and has a dream that is a recurring and favourite dream of his. In it the world is quiet, and he is alone. There are no people to talk to him or touch him. He can move about wherever he wants but he chooses to be at home, his safe place.

Chapter 229 Quotes

And eventually there is no one left in the world except people who don’t look at other people’s faces and who don’t know what these pictures mean […] Chapter 229

Chapter 233

The next morning Christopher’s mother and Roger argue about Christopher and whether he can stay. Mr Shears is adamant he doesn’t want Christopher there and that he didn’t sign up for children. Christopher becomes distressed as he intends to go back to Swindon to take his math A-level exam. His mother suggests that it will have to wait but that seems unsatisfactory and Christopher becomes overwhelmed. Christopher stops eating as he is too upset and takes to late night walks in the street. Unlike Swindon, this is dangerous in London. The arguments increase between Roger and his mother. She has taken leave to look after Christopher but soon is fired for not returning to work. She packs up Roger’s car and takes Christopher back to live in Swindon. Her dedication from the moment Christopher arrived allows a secondary view of Mrs Boone; with her character initially under question for leaving the family unit, it is now proved true that she is willing to sacrifice her relationship with Roger because Christopher needs her.

In Swindon, Christopher stays with his father for a short time until his mother rents an apartment for them. Roger arrives in a taxi, furious, and dumps her belongings on the lawn, then takes his car back. Christopher locks himself in his room, still distrusting of his father, and is upset and confused. He still is not eating well, worried that he will not be able to take the exams. The exams are a chance for Christopher to excel in an area in which he feels comfortable, without which he will be resigned to a world in which he is not successful and finds difficult. They are also seen by him as a gateway to a new life at college. It is decided that he will take the exams, and he scores well on them despite the pressure he is under in his homelife, emphasizing the extent of his intelligence and resilience.

Mr Boone buys Christopher a puppy as a peace offering and says he would like to slowly regain Christopher’s trust. They agree to keep the dog at Christopher’s father’s house and that Christopher will visit there. He seems to be warming to the idea of reconciliation and is encouraged by the result from his A level exam.

Chapter 233 Quotes

‘Let’s call it…let’s call it a project. A project we have to do together. You have to spend more time with me. And I…I have to show you that you can trust me.’ (Ed Boone) Chapter 233

And I know I can do this because I went to London on my own, and because I solved the mystery of Who Killed Wellington? And I found my mother and I was brave and I wrote a book and that means I can do anything. (Christopher Boone) Chapter 233

And he said, ‘Just… thank you. Then he said, “I’m very proud of you, Christopher. Very proud.’ Chapter 233